Abstract This paper advances theory on the strategic dimensions of corporate purpose by exploring how organizations design for a dual‐aim purpose —pursuing both financial and pro‐social objectives that are inherently in tension. While earlier research highlights purpose as a unifying force that motivates action and guides strategic decision‐making, we examine its more complex and sometimes constraining role in strategy execution. Based on a two‐decade‐long study of Systembolaget, Sweden's state‐owned alcohol retailer, we trace three organizational design strategies for enacting dual aims: accepting friction, avoiding friction, and removing friction. By introducing a framework that evaluates organizational designs through effectiveness, efficacy, efficiency, and effort, we highlight how organizational designs not only embody trade‐offs but also require scaffolding mechanisms—dialogic practices, capability‐building, and governance models—that enable continuous recalibration. Our findings contribute to strategy and organization theory by showing that purpose‐driven duality demands a more granular theorization of contextual ambidexterity: from “dynamic shifting” between aims to “transcending” solutions that embed both simultaneously. While Systembolaget represents a special case, the challenges it faces mirror those confronting a growing number of organizations navigating the shift toward multi‐dimensional measures of success.
Pregmark et al. (Fri,) studied this question.